Tokyo's stocks soar after a landslide at the polls

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: Tokyo's stocks soar after a landslide at the polls
Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Stuart Clarkson (BBC World Service for Marketplace)
Special Guest: Suranjana Tiwari, BBC
Reporters: Guy Hedgco, Vitaly Shevchenko

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Overview

This episode offers a concise, global update on overnight economic and business news. The core focus is on Tokyo's stock market surging following a historic general election in Japan, with commentary on the policy implications of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide re-election. Additional highlights include updates on European stock movements, strikes in Spain, antitrust action against Meta, and how the war in Ukraine exposes vulnerabilities rooted in Soviet-era heating infrastructure.

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Key Segments and Insights

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1. Japan’s Election and Market Rally

[00:52 - 03:08]

Major Highlights:

• Historic Election Outcome:
  • Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) win a two-thirds majority in the lower house—the first such result in Japan since 1947.
• Market Reaction:
  • Japanese stocks end the day at a record high as markets react to the political stability and policy pledges.

Economic Policy Implications:

• Cost of Living:
  • Takaichi's platform includes increased government spending and tax reduction to ease cost-of-living crises.
    • "Just to give you a sense, the price of rice doubled in 2025, so people are really hurting."
      — Suranjana Tiwari [01:30]
• Market Skepticism vs. Optimism:
  • Investors have previously been wary due to Japan’s high public debt, but the election result implies potential for follow-through on promises, driving market optimism.
• Defense and Tech Investment:
  • Increase in defense spending (with cooperation from the US), investment into new technologies like electric vehicles, and robotics.
• Demographic Challenges:
  • Policies to counteract the shrinking, aging population: robotization, automation, getting more women and seniors into the workforce.
    • "She wants to get more women back into the workforce and she wants to extend the retirement age so that older people are more productive for a longer time."
      — Suranjana Tiwari [02:16]
• Markets Await Execution:
  • There’s cautious anticipation about whether these bold plans will materialize, but for now, market sentiment is positive.

Notable Quote:

• "Markets are really on edge, but from the looks of what happened today they're definitely betting that whatever Takaichi has promised she might be able to follow through on and it will ultimately boost growth in Japan."
  — Suranjana Tiwari [02:56]

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2. Global Markets and Company Updates

[03:12 - 03:50]

Key Numbers and Moves:

• General global stock uptick in Asia and Europe.
• Novo Nordisk:
  • Shares jump over 8% after HIMS & Hers drops its copycat of the weight-loss drug Wegovy.
• In Post (Poland):
  • Shares surge 13% following news of a $9.2 billion acquisition by Advent and FedEx.
• Spain’s Rail Strike:
  • Three-day strike by train drivers in response to two fatal accidents, calling for better investment and more staff.

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3. EU vs. Meta (Antitrust Action)

[04:16 - 05:01]

• European Commission Charges:
  • Meta is accused of breaching antitrust by blocking rival AI services from WhatsApp.
• Meta's Response:
  • Denies wrongdoing, asserting that users have many AI chatbot choices across platforms.

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4. Ukraine’s War-time Winter and Soviet-era Infrastructure Vulnerabilities

[05:01 - 07:51]

Situation Overview:

• Russian Strikes:
  • Attacks on energy infrastructure leave a million Ukrainians without heat during temperatures plunging below -15˚C.
• Built-in Vulnerabilities:
  • Soviet-era apartment blocks rely on centralized communal heating, making them highly susceptible to targeted destruction.

Memorable Moment:

• Personal testimony of Marharyt Romarenko (Ukrainian civilian):
  • "In some really cold nights that I spent in my apartment under like three blankets and sleeping in my winter cloak, I could see my breath evaporating because the temperature was so cold..."
    — Marharyt Romarenko [05:26]
• Structural Challenges:
  • Older panel buildings and heating plants are not designed to withstand war, creating mass dependency and risk.
• Expert Commentary:
  • "Ukraine inherited the Soviet heating system and it hasn't changed anything. It stays predominantly centralized. These heating plants were not designed to be attacked with missiles or drones. That's why these vulnerabilities came to the fore during the war."
    — Yuriy Korolchuk, Ukrainian energy expert [07:03]
• Scale of the issue:
  • E.g., In frontline city Zaporizhzhia, almost 75% rely on communal heat.

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Notable Quotes

• "She’s really connected with voters through her promises to reduce the burden on households. But there are deep structural issues in Japan's economy…"
  — Suranjana Tiwari [01:30]
• "Another area where she wants to focus on is new technologies, so things like electric vehicles. And Japan has a real problem with its workforce... She wants to invest in things like robots and automation in factories."
  — Suranjana Tiwari [02:16]
• "Ukraine is now living through the most difficult winter in recent memory… hundreds of thousands of people without heating."
  — Vitaly Shevchenko [05:01]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• (00:52) Tokyo’s election & market bounce—analysis with Suranjana Tiwari
• (03:12) Global market updates: Novo Nordisk, In Post, Spanish rail strike
• (04:16) EU charges Meta with antitrust violations
• (05:01) Ukraine’s heating crisis—war meets Soviet infrastructure (w/ expert and civilian voices)

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Tone & Style

• Factual, succinct, and focused on global relevance.
• Brief expert interviews mixed with narrative reporting, providing an accessible, “start your day” overview.

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For Additional Listening:

• The episode briefly previewed a segment on financial secrets in relationships (from "This Is Uncomfortable") but this was outside the main business and global affairs focus.

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This episode blends sharp economic analysis, global market context, and human-centered reporting—especially in its Ukraine segment—delivering a brisk, insightful roundup for the globally engaged listener.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Stuart Clarkson]

Tokyo stocks soar after a landslide at the polls Live from the UK this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Stuart Clarkson. Good morning. Japanese stocks ended the day on a record high after the country's general election saw Sanayi Takeichi re elected as prime minister. A Liberal Democratic party won a two thirds majority of the lower house, the first time that's happened since Japan's parliament was established in its current form in 1947. The BBC's Suranjana Tiwari is with us on Marketplace. Hi, Suranjana.

[Suranjana Tiwari]

Hi there.

[Stuart Clarkson]

So, quite a historic result. What does this mean for the economy in Japan?

[Suranjana Tiwari]

Sanae Takeichi's promise to increase government spending and reduce some taxes to try and ease the cost of living crisis in Japan. Just to give you a sense, the price of rice doubled in 2025, so people are really hurting. She's really connected with voters through her promises to reduce the burden on households. But there are deep structural issues in Japan's economy and markets, and investors until today had nervous about her increasing that government spending because Japan's already got one of the highest government debts in the world.

[Stuart Clarkson]

And defence spending is something else that's been talked about and given the majority that she's got, it seems likely that's going to happen now.

[Suranjana Tiwari]

That's right. She wants to invest in defense, and that was something that was agreed with longtime ally the US in order to reduce the reliance on Washington. Another area where she wants to focus on is new technologies, so things like electric vehicles. And Japan has a real problem with its workforce. It's got a shrinking population. Its population is aging very fast. So she wants to invest in things like robots and automation and factories. She wants to get more women back into the workforce and she wants to extend the retirement age so that older people are more productive for a longer time. There's a lot at play and markets are really on edge, but from the looks of what happened today, they're definitely betting that whatever Takaichi has promised she might be able to follow through on and it will ultimately boost growth in Japan.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Okay, sir. And Jonah Tuare, thanks for being with us here on Marketplace.

[Suranjana Tiwari]

Thanks a lot.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Let's do the numbers now. And there's a general bounce back in stocks this morning with major markets up across Asia and Europe. Shares in Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk jumped more than 8% after U.S. firm HIMS and hers said at the weekend it would drop its copycat of the new pill version of the weight loss drug Wegovy. And shares in Poland's In Post were up 13% after news that a consortium led by Advent and FedEx will buy the delivery firm in a $9.2 billion takeover. Train drivers in Spain are starting a three day strike prompted by two fatal rail accidents last month. The BBC's Guy Hedgco reports from Madrid.

[Guy Hedgco]

On the 18th of January, a high speed train derailed in southern Spain, colliding with another one traveling in the opposite direction, causing 46 deaths. The investigation into the accident is focusing on a cracked section of track. Two days later in Catalonia, a trainee driver was killed when a collapsed wall caused a local train to derail. The striking drivers are demanding increased investment and maintenance and the hiring of more staff.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Guy Hedgeko reporting. In the last hour or so, the European Commission has charged Meta with breaching antitrust rules by blocking rival AI services from WhatsApp and has threatened to impose interim measures against the tech firm. Meta says there's no reason for the EU to intervene and it says users have plenty of AI chatbot options across various apps, oper operating systems and devices. Now Russian strikes on Ukraine's heating systems have left about a million people freezing this winter. The way Ukrainian cities were built makes them especially vulnerable to such attacks. The BBC's Vitaly Shevchenko explains how Soviet urban planning is making it easier for Russia to freeze Ukraine and a warning. The report starts with the sound of an air raid warning siren from a war zone.

[Vitaly Shevchenko]

Ukraine is now living through the most difficult winter in recent memory. As temperatures plummeted climated below -15 degrees Celsius. Russia has been attacking energy infrastructure. The capital Kyiv is the main target of such attacks, which have left hundreds of thousands of people without heating. Marharyt Romarenko is one of them.

[Maria]

In some really cold nights that I spent in my apartment under like three blankets and sleeping in my winter cloak, I could see my breath evaporating because the temperature was so cold that you could see steam coming of your mouth.

[Vitaly Shevchenko]

What is making things much worse for people like Margarita and easier for the Russian military, is the widespread prevalence of apartment blocks which rely on communal central heating, where water is heated up elsewhere and then pumped into their radiators. This is the result of how cities were built across the Soviet Union, including in Ukraine. The focus of huge construction programs back then was on cheap, mass produced housing. Look at any city in the USSR and its landscape will probably be dominated by ubiquitous nine storey residential buildings made out of prefabricated concrete panels known as Panelki, or smaller five storey blocks of flats known as Khrushchevki, after Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader who oversaw their construction in the 1950s and 60s. They all need heating to be supplied from outside. Heating plants known as pets in Ukraine are huge. And when they're targeted by Russia, this affects many thousands. The authorities say that all such power plants have now been hit. Yuriy Korolchuk is a Ukrainian energy expert.

[Yuriy Korolchuk]

Ukraine inherited the Soviet heating system and it hasn't changed anything. It stays predominantly centralized. These heating plants were not designed to be attacked with missiles or drones. That's why these vulnerabilities came to the fore during the war. During the previous winters, there were no such strikes against the heating system. They happened only occasionally and they didn't directly target heating plants.

[Vitaly Shevchenko]

For security reasons, Kyiv's local power company will not say exactly how many residents rely on communal heating. In the frontline city of Zaporizhzhia, it's almost 3/4. The Ukrainian government is acutely aware of this vulnerability. But undoing decades of Soviet urban planning will not be quick or easy.

[Stuart Clarkson]

That's the BBC's Vitaly Shevchenko. Thank you for listening today. Our producer was James Graham. Our editor is Naomi Rainey. In the uk, I'm Stuart Clarkson with the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

[Maria]

Have you ever kept a financial secret from a partner? I'm Maria. And this week on this Is Uncomfortable. I sit down with a divorce lawyer who shares some pretty extreme cases of financial secrecy.

[Vitaly Shevchenko]

They had a forensic accountant, went through the numbers and they calculated that he spent $250,000 in a year on strip clubs.

[Maria]

And I also chat with a couples counselor about how financial issues in a relationship are often really about trust and power.

[Podcast Host]

I find that a lot of dudes typically are like, I know how to.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Spend the money the right way.

[Maria]

I should be the one that has.

[Podcast Host]

All the control over it.

[Stuart Clarkson]

And you, with your girl brain don't understand.

[Maria]

Listen to this is uncomfortable on your favorite podcast.

[Podcast Host]

Applause.